Bratton evades hot seat at Golden Globe Awards

So perhaps it was a good thing that the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. changed his seating arrangements at Monday's 64th annual Golden Globe Awards.

Bratton had been scheduled to sit with the cast of "Weeds," the Showtime comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker about a pot-selling suburban soccer mom.

Several days before the big event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, however, organizers noticed the potentially problematic pairing and quickly moved the chief and his wife, Rikki Klieman, an actress and legal analyst.

"There was a moment of silence when we realized it and then we burst out in laughter," said Theo Kingma, a photographer and member of the Hollywood association.

He said that even though he received free tickets to the show, "I would have paid to sit at that table."

Bratton eventually landed at a table filled mostly with representatives of French champagne maker -- and event co-sponsor -- Moet & Chandon.

The chief was one of several local law enforcement officials -- including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Beverly Hills Police Chief David Snowden -- to attend the show.

Despite the presence of so much brass, several boxes containing 80 goodie bags valued at $450 each were stolen. By Tuesday morning, however, Beverly Hills police said they had arrested two people at the hotel with some of the loot.